A Matter of Truth
by luminosity45
Summary: Gibbs has never had to take a polygraph for a reason, now, the new SecNav wants to change that.
1. Chapter 1

Leon Vance was behind his desk looking through a very thick file. He sighed. He wasn't looking forward to doing this, but word came down from Secretary Jarvis, who seemed to be intent on stirring things up. Life wasn't easy when Davenport was SecNav, but at least he let NCIS operate independently and rarely interfered unless absolutely necessary, and definitely didn't try to cause trouble. Maybe this was just Javis' way of making his mark, but he suspected it was something worse.

As Vance was still lost in his thoughts trying to find a way to change SecNav's mind, Gibbs walked in the open office door and closed the door behind him. In a passive-aggressive move by Vance, when he knew Agent Gibbs was expected at his office, he always left the door open, not giving the agent the opportunity to walk in without knocking. Vance looked up at the Agent standing at his desk. He closed the file he had been reading, "Thanks for coming Agent Gibbs," Vance began.

"Interesting reading material?" Gibbs asked as he nodded toward the file Vance had under his hands. The file had Gibbs' name on it.

"It reads more like fiction than a biography," Vance retorted back.

Gibbs smirked. "Well, I didn't write that, you guys in suits did."

"And it seems another guy in a suit wants to add to it." Vance responded. "SecNav has noticed that you haven't passed a Full Scope polygraph, ever." Vance rose from his seated position, turned and looked out his window, putting his back to Gibbs, he continued talking to the window "Secretary Jarvis has ordered that you must pass a full scope polygraph to retain your TS/SCI clearance." Vance remained looking out the window, not really wanting to see Gibbs reaction.

After Vance finished speaking, Gibbs face went from astonishment to surprise to annoyance to anger within a few seconds. Finally Gibbs spoke, "He wants me to do what?" The words dripped with the anger that was also visible on Gibbs face. "Has he read my file, Leon? If he has, he knows I am exempt!" Gibbs exclaimed with more excitement in his voice than Vance had ever heard.

Vance turned from the window to face the questioning agent. "He said he has, and I'm not about to call him a liar, but we both know that if he really did he would honor your exemption." Vance paused, and walked around his desk to stand face to face with the agent, "Unless he has some hidden agenda that we don't know about. Gibbs, both you and I know why you are exempt from taking a polygraph for your clearance based on, ah, certain circumstances."

Gibbs just stared at Vance, gave him a smirk and canted his head just a tad, somewhat amused by the diplomatic words Vance used to describe his exemption. "Leon, I don't like how Secretary Jarvis used and manipulated Tony. I know he is an old friend Leon, but honestly, I don't trust the guy! He's been trying to pit you and me against each other from the day he was sworn in. I know the position you're in. Hell, I know the position I'm in! If I fail the polygraph, I'm out of a job!" Gibbs paused to think about that for a little bit. Vance just looked at him waiting for him to continue. Finally Gibbs did go on, "I think right now all we can do is go with it."

"I knew him well a while ago, Gibbs. Not sure if he is the same man." Vance acknowledged. He walked back to the other side of his desk. " Let's go with it then. Can you handle it Gibbs?" Vance looked at Gibbs with his normal deadpan stare, giving nothing away.

"Won't be a problem, director. I'm more worried about what SecNav is gonna try next. Can you handle that, Leon?" Gibbs asked the director.

"Don't worry about me, Gibbs, just worry about that polygraph. You need to pass it!" Vance ordered.

Gibbs smiled, "as I said, not a problem. Just tell me when and where."

Vance handed Gibbs an envelope, "all the information you need to know is in here. SecNav's office arranged the time and place. Do whatever you need to do. Contact anyone you need to contact to get this squashed if necessary."

Gibbs took the envelope, an amused smirk was on his face. "I'll make a call, but it seems like SecNav has his mind made up." He turned and headed for the door.

"Hey Gibbs!" Vance called after him.

Before he went through the door, Gibbs stopped and turned to face Vance again.

"Good Luck, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs waved the envelope at Vance in a gesture that was meant to mean 'thanks'. Both men understood the unspoken action.

..TBC..


	2. Chapter 2

Tony, Ziva and McGee were all at their desks, eyes focused on their computers.

"Huh!" Tony exclaimed.

"Huh, what?" McGee asked as he looked up from his monitor.

"I just got an e-mail scheduling me for a polygraph. I just took one 8 months ago; usually they're good for three years. You think they thought I was lying about something?" Tony said as he looked up from his monitor toward McGee quizzically.

"You lie? Never!" McGee answered back, "Exaggerate a little bit? Maybe."

"I'd don't exaggerate, McTruth." Tony jabbed back, "I just flaunt what I have!"

"McGee? Is it legal for Tony to flaunt," Ziva asked

"With what I have, it would be illegal not to flaunt, Zee-vah!" Tony responded as he stood beside his desk. "Owwww" Tony responded to the sting at the back of his head.

"No flaunting on my time, DiNozzo!" Gibbs said as he headed toward his desk and sat.

A ding came from Ziva's computer indicating she had e-mail. "I just got an e-mail scheduling me for a polygraph as well!" exclaimed Ziva in astonishment, "And I took a full polygraph when I went through the process of becoming an agent, why would I have to take another one so soon?"

Before anyone said anything, McGee's computer chimed to indicate he just received an e-mail. All eyes turned toward him. "I got one too!" Tim announced after he looked at his mail. "Maybe it is because I know Tony, and Tony lied to them?"

"I don't lie!" Tony said a bit exasperated. Then an idea hit him, "I know! Someone just screwed up again, it happens all the time."

Gibbs had turned his attention back to a file in front of him, "no one screwed up, DiNozzo! The new SecNav just wants to get to know us a little better." Gibbs continued reading the file while three pairs of eyes stared at him waiting for him to explain more.

Gibbs looked up from the file and saw all eyes on him, "I've been scheduled for a polygraph, too!" then turned his attention back to the file.

All three agents stared at Gibbs who was ignoring their attention, so they looked at each other and mouthed to each other "Gibbs has to take a polygraph?"

Gibbs tried to hide his amusement at his agents' reaction, and decided it was time to go get coffee so they could talk amongst themselves. He kinda needed another cup anyway. He stood up and started out of the bull pen, as he passed Tony & Ziva's desks all he said was "coffee" as he continued on.

"Got it covered, boss!" Tony said to Gibbs' back.

After Gibbs had gone, "What's going on?" Tony said looking at Ziva then McGee.

"Let me call Abby and see if she's heard anything," McGee picked up the phone and dialed Abby's lab.

* * *

><p>As Gibbs was about to re-enter the building with coffee in hand, his phone rang. "Gibbs."<p>

Abby's voice, full of her usual exuberance was on the other end, "Gibbs! I need you for something!"

"Be right there, Abs" Gibbs responded and snapped the phone shut. They weren't working on an active case right now, just tying up paperwork from the last case. He couldn't think of any reason Abby would need him in the lab, but he had learned to never question her motives, it could be dangerous!

As Gibbs stepped off the elevator, music by some unknown band greeted, and grated at, Gibbs ears. Gibbs walked into the lab and yelled, "Whaddya need Abs?"

The lab tech was arranging a chair next to her lab bench. She used her remote to turn the music down, then ran over to Gibbs and gave him a big hug when he was only half-way to her. "Don't worry Gibbs! I'll help you get through this! Take your shirt off!"

Gibbs gave Abby a 'half-stare' "What?"

"Take your shirt off, Gibbs!" Abby started to try to peel Gibbs blazer off one shoulder.

"Abs!" Gibbs exclaimed, trying to keep his coffee upright as Abby was trying to undress him. "What are you doing?"

Abby stopped for a second to explain to Gibbs, even though she was sure it was obvious, she stood in front of him face to face "I'm helping you Gibbs. Now take your shirt off! Now!"

"Abby, I'm not one of your toy boys," Gibbs, still puzzled by the lab tech's actions, "why did you call me down here?"

Abby seemed to calm down a bit, "Gibbs. It's boy-toy, and you could be one if you want, but I think you're more of a sugar daddy than a boy-toy," Abby coyly walked over to the chair she had been arranging near her lab bench, "you're here, Gibbs, so I can help you. I heard that you have to take a polygraph test." Gibbs rolled his eyes and made a mental note to give McGee a head slap when he got back up to the bullpen. Abby continued "I helped McGee by simulating a polygraph test so he would be more prepared, comfortable, when he had to take the actual test. I can do the same for you!" Abby smiled at Gibbs, happy that she could assist Gibbs through this.

Gibbs just looked at Abby for a few seconds, seeing how excited she was to be able to do this for him, "Abby, I'm fine. No need to do any of this." Gibbs gestured toward the chair and the wire harness that went from the chair to the computer on the lab bench.

"But Gibbs!" Abby nearly whined "you've never had a polygraph, you could really benefit from going through a simulated polygraph, get your nerves out.

"Abby, when have you ever known me to get nervous?" Gibbs asked, with a bit of amusement in his eyes and a slight smirk on his face. "And who said I never had a polygraph?"

Abby was a bit confused as she answered "well, of course Leroy Jethro Gibbs doesn't get nervous, I didn't mean to imply you did, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared, just like a good boy scout." Then Abby realized the second part that Gibbs had said, "You've had a polygraph? I thought that you never had one before, that you somehow did your Gibbs mind trick and convinced the powers that be to give you a clearance without having to take a polygraph. It's pure Urban Legend throughout NCIS."

"It's wrong, Abs." Gibbs walked over to the confused woman and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for trying to help. And nice try. But you're not getting me to take my shirt off" Gibbs eyes twinkled.

"Busted!" Abby's said as her eyes mischievously twinkled back. "Can't blame a girl for trying."

Gibbs strode out of the lab.

Abby muttered to herself, "I'll get him to take it off someday!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was kinda stuck on which way I wanted this to go. Thanks to Dietpunkfics for being my beta for this chapter.**

Once he was in the elevator, Gibbs hit the emergency stop. He needed some privacy for this call. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number from memory. The phone at the other end rang a few times, then was answered in a gruff manner "Uncle Tony's Pizza & Pasta".

Gibbs responded "May I speak with Aunt Angelina?"

A pause at the other end, "may I ask who's calling?"

The challenge question. It's been a while since he had to call in and use the challenge phrase. He sighed before he answered "This is Shannon Kelly. Validation number: 3-1-4-1-5-9-2-6-5-3" Gibbs heard the clicks of a keyboard as his identity was being verified.

"Please hold for Aunt Angelina, Mr. Kelly" Gibbs heard from the other end of the line.

Gibbs could hear the call being re-routed and waited a few more seconds before he heard a female voice "This is Aunt Angelina, secure phone?"

Gibbs answered 'No.'

All-business, the voice continued. "Situation?"

"Potential exposure," Gibbs replied.

"Level of exposure?"

"Internal to DOD. Below clearance.," Gibbs replied.

"Urgency?"

"Polygraph scheduled for tomorrow." More clacks from the keyboard.

"You must proceed as scheduled. We'll take care of the polygraph results and contact you in due time." The voice ended and the line was disconnected.

Gibbs took the phone from his ear, snapped it shut and released the emergency stop. The elevator started moving again, and Gibbs had a grim look of concentration on his face as he tried to figure out what this was all about. Was he being hung out to dry? If so, by whom? Too many players were in the game and he wasn't sure who was pulling strings, pushing buttons or moving the chess pieces, or even which game that he had been involved in, was still being played. Or was it a new one?

Several flashbacks went through Gibbs mind.

_As a young Marine, Gibbs had been chosen along with 7 other Marines. They were going through extreme PT, being pushed beyond the limit of a recruit, beyond the limit of what any Marine was expected to endure. _

Flash

_Jonas Cobb was on the screen in MTAC, going through the same training in the CIA videos Gibbs remembers doing 20 years earlier. Gibbs asked Kort 'could he kill?' _

_Kort answered, "Unfortunately, when Cobb returned to the program, he was far less responsive to training and handling."__  
><em>_"Thing like that changes a man."__ Gibbs replied. _

Flash

_He takes aim and fires at Pedro Hernandez taking him out. But yet, he is still in agony over the loss of Shannon & Kelly._

Flash

_He is in a briefing, he is being sent to Colombia to take out a drug lord._

Flash

_After he takes out the drug lord, he is wounded and is taken in by Rose Tomayo who nurses him back to health so that he is able to make it home. _

Flash

_Paris. He approaches a man in a deserted alley and shoots Anatoly Zukov dead. _

Flash

_Abby says that she knows he killed Pedro Hernandez. She would do anything to protect him._

Gibbs is back to the present.

The elevator dings and announces its arrival. Gibbs exits the elevator and heads toward his desk.

Tony asks, as Gibbs passed by, "you willing to share yet? Boss?"

Gibbs sends a glared Tony's way. Tony would rather have a headslap than a glare like that from Gibbs.

Gibbs looks up and scans his team, "You've all taken the polygraph before, they're gonna ask you the same questions, don't worry about it, just do it.

McGee, DiNozzo and Ziva all look at each other uneasily, none of them feeling comfortable saying anything. Finally McGee spoke up, "but, ah, boss, we've taken the polygraph before, but what about you? Abby can help you get comfortable taking one…"

Before McGee could finish his hesitant explanation, Gibbs interrupted, "McGee! I am not taking off my shirt! I don't know what Abby told you, but removing your shirt to take a polygraph is not required!"

McGee instinctively put his hands over his chest, and indignantly replied 'Really! She told me that the only…"

Before McGee could finish, Gibbs interrupted, "McGee, removal of any clothing is not required during a polygraph test."  
>Indignant, McGee first got angry, then a tad flattered as he declared, "I can't believe she used me like that!"<p>

DiNozzo and Ziva looked at each other and shared a knowing smirk. DiNozzo respond 'Like you really had a choice, probie."

Gibbs collected his gun and his badge from his secure drawer. "Tony, you have team lead the rest of the afternoon."

'Boss?' Tony questioned as Gibbs passed on his way out of the bullpen.

'Handle anything that comes up, Tony. You're still Senior Field Agent, right?' Gibbs asked as he headed toward the elevator.

Tony was standing with his chest puffed out a little more than usual, 'he called me Senior Field Agent, and left me in charge' went though his mind. 'Got it Boss!' he yelled back as the elevator doors closed.

Gibbs went home more annoyed than anything about having to take the polygraph. He wasn't exactly sure what was expected of him. Should he tell the truth or cover it up? Should he obscure the answers? No one instructed him on how to handle this, so he decided to go with what he was told years ago - Give nothing away.

* * *

><p>The polygraph was scheduled at 7am, so Gibbs showed up an hour earlier.<p>

He had to go through security, so he left his gun at the office since weapons weren't allowed inside.

As Gibbs walked into the building, he was subject to a metal detector search, before being directed to a room to the right, where a the receptionist shoved a clipboard in his direction so he could sign in. He was the first person to sign in for the day. Without any verbal direction from the secretary or anyone else, Gibbs found a seat in the waiting area. Over the next 40 minutes more people came through the door and signed in. Gibbs categorized everyone into three groups: those who were already cleared and coming in for their three year poly, those who were going through the clearance process for the first time, and a few who had no idea as to why they were being brought in and were nervous as hell. It wasn't lost on him that this would include his team over the next couple of days.

"Leroy Gibbs."

Gibbs got up and moved toward the man who'd called his name, and shook the extended hand. "I'm Ray Jackson, I'll be performing the polygraph, Mr. Gibbs. Let's go, this way, just follow me." The man lead Gibbs down a narrow hallway and into a room,

Once in the room, Ray Jackson closed the door and gestured to a chair. "Mr. Gibbs, please have a seat." Gibbs sat in the chair that was rigged for a polygraph. Ray Jackson pulled up a chair and sat across from Gibbs. He had a checklist in his hand. "Mr. Gibbs, this is the pre-polygraph screening. We can't proceed with the polygraph until you complete this. Do you understand?"

Gibbs looked at Ray Jackson with a slightly amused look on his face, "Yes, sir. I understand." Gibbs looked around the room. A small room with a chair where he would sit, behind the chair was the polygraph equipment next to a chair for Ray. A two way mirror made up the wall opposite the door, he was probably being observed, or maybe video taped, but wasn't sure where the camera was hidden. Gibbs sat down in the chair indicated by Jackson.

"Good, Mr. Gibbs. We can proceed with the pre-polygraph questions." Jackson referred to the clipboard as he began to ask questions.

"Have you had anything containing caffeine in the past 12 hours, Mr. Gibbs?"

Gibbs had a half-smile on his face. This was the most difficult part of a polygraph, giving up his morning coffee, "No, nothing with caffeine."

Jackson checked off something on his clipboard then continued, "Do you take any hypertensive medication, Mr. Gibbs?"

"No" Gibbs promptly responded.

"Did you take any medication or supplements this morning?" Ray asked.

"I take a multi-vitamin and a Vitamin C supplement every morning, nothing else," Gibbs responded.

Ray Jackson checked that off on his list. "Have you ever had a polygraph, Mr. Gibbs"

Gibbs nodded "yes, I have."

Ray Jackson nodded back. "Good. Then you know what to expect. I will ask several baseline questions such as your name, personal information, and other questions to establish your reaction to questions you answer truthfully." Jackson turned and pointed to the wall, "See those numbers on the wall?"

Gibbs looked at the wall and saw the numbers '1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7' in a column on a cardboard card taped to the wall. "Yeah, I see 'em"

"I will ask about those during the test, I will ask if you see the number, you will always say yes, no matter what number I ask, even if the number is not on the wall, this will help to establish a baseline for when you don't tell the truth. Do you understand Mr. Gibbs."

"Yes," Gibbs said without any emotion.

"OK, Mr. Gibbs, let me finishing hooking you up and we'll start the polygraph." Ray Jackson had no idea what he was getting into by performing the polygraph examination of Leroy Jethro Gibbs.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks to all who have reviewed this story and/or have put an alert on it. It is only my 2nd fanfic, so i appreciate all feedback. I am not familiar with how a polygraph exam is conducted, nor how it is analyzed. I used the internet to research this information, which may or may not be correct. Just take it as poetic license if any of it might be a little off-base or even completely incorrect. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

* * *

><p>Ray Jackson had been a polygraph examiner for nearly 20 years. He was pretty good at his job, not the best, but that was only because he wasn't a ruthless interrogator. He preferred doing lifestyle polygraph exams, not investigative exams. This one was neither, or maybe both.<p>

Rumor had it that the order for this special exam came from a very high level. No one in the department had any idea from where, nor had they heard of any exam like this being performed before. Ray had no knowledge of who the man undergoing this exam was since he didn't receive a file on the subject ahead of time. In fact, he didn't receive a file at all. Instead, he was given a set of questions to ask, several appeared to be questions that would not normally be asked during a polygraph exam. He was also told not to do the pre-polygraph questions that were a normal part of the exam. Usually he would explain all the questions to the person under examination up front, made sure they understood them, then would ask them again when the test was being performed. No surprises for the subject under examination. For Mr. Gibbs he was told not to go over any questions prior to starting the exam. Another difference from a normal exam, another examiner in the observation room recording the subject and monitoring the same results he was monitoring in the exam room. Ray didn't like being part of this one bit.

Ray checked the monitoring devices that were hooked up to Gibbs to ensure they were all properly fastened and attached. The rubber tubes that encircled Gibbs' chest and mid-torso would monitor respiratory activity, the attachments on his fingers would measure sweat gland activity, and the cuff on his upper arm would measure blood pressure and pulse. All seemed to be in order. "Are you comfortable, Mr. Gibbs?"

Gibbs was calm, "yea, as comfortable as I can be when I'm about to have a polygraph exam." He gave a little wry smile.

Ray returned to his monitoring equipment behind Gibbs and checked the readings on display. All seemed to be in order. "Just relax. There will be a period of monitoring without any questions asked so we can get a baseline reading. After several minutes of baseline monitoring, I will ask a few easy questions, we'll be done in no time." Ray tried to sound reassuring, but there was something in his voice which was anything but reassuring. Gibbs could tell the man was uneasy about the situation, this wasn't a normal polygraph exam, he already knew that, maybe the examiner had never done one of these before.

Gibbs was glad that he had woken up a bit earlier than usual to 'get his head in the game' and prepare himself for the exam. It had been a while since he had submitted to a polygraph exam, but he knew how to handle it. As a sniper, he knew how to calm his body down, to contain his body's reaction, with that ability already learned, when he was brought into the program years ago, it was easy to learn the rest. He would have to maintain his breathing and heart rate at constant rates, and make sure he didn't sweat. Even though he hadn't practiced these skills specifically lately, he always tried to maintain a control at all times which required the same skills. He was confident that he could do it this morning. Gibbs looked at the wall with the mirror just before the exam started, and wondered who was observing behind the one way glass.

Behind the glass, Simon Russ was settled in front of a computer that duplicated what Ray Jackson saw on his computer in the exam room. He had been assigned to monitor the exam, which was a very rare circumstance, usually when high risk subject was being examined. Just like Ray, he had no file on the subject and didn't even know the questions that Ray was given to ask.

Simon was just waiting for Ray to finish the preliminary baseline monitoring of the subject. He looked at the video screen that was relaying the images the camera captured of the subject, one side view and one front view. The man looked calm for someone about to undergo such an unorthodox polygraph exam. He looked at the readings from the subject, they showed that he was as calm as he looked. Maybe he had no idea this was not a normal exam.

As he was sitting there lost in his thoughts, looking at the screen, the door to the observation room opened. A man stepped inside. Simon sat up a little straighter and paid more attention to the monitoring devices in front of him. He had recognized the man who had just entered the room, Secretary of the Navy Clayton Jarvis. This polygraph exam must really be important!

Ray Jackson watched at the baseline monitoring data was shown on the screen in real time. He rarely saw a baseline stay so even the entire time. Usually subjects would begin to get nervous when no questions were asked, and there would be some variability in the feedback. People inherently hated silence and usually became uncomfortable when the silence went on over a minute or two, but this Gibbs fellow was one cool customer.

"Mr. Gibbs, I will now start the questions for the exam." Ray hit the key to benchmark the beginning of questioning. He looked at the sheet of questions and started reading from the top, "Is your name Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"

"Yes." Gibbs knew the best way to get through the exam was to answer the questions as truthfully as he could, there were some questions, if asked, he could not answer truthfully. He would cross that bridge when he got to it, but he was pretty sure those questions would come up.

Ray marked the answer, then waiting for 30 seconds in case there was a delayed reaction in the subject. "Did you enlist in the US Marine Corp in 1976?" Ray wasn't sure if this was true or not, but he could definitely see that the subject had the bearing of a Marine.

"Yes." Gibbs replied, deadpan.

"Please refer to the cardboard poster taped to the wall for the next question. Do you see the number 6 on the cardboard poster?" Ray's question was one of the control questions.

"Yes." Gibbs responded.

So far the monitoring equipment showed no variation in any of Gibbs' vital signs. All indications were that he was telling the truth.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Ray was a little surprised at the question, but if the man was a Marine and had been in combat, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.

"Yes." The feedback on the screen was unwavering, indicating the answer was true, but it was almost too unwavering. In his experience, people who had killed someone had even a slight physical reaction when the question was asked even when their answer was the truth. So far all the monitors showed no change in any of the monitored physical responses. Ray figured the subject had killed more than once and had become use to, and even a bit comfortable with the task.

"Were you born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania?" Ray watched the screen for the response.

"No."

The truth. Ray continued with the questions "Do you see the number 2 on the cardboard poster taped to the wall in front of you?"

"Yes"

"Have you assembled a boat by hand in your basement?" Ray thought this question had to be false, it just seemed out of the realm of possibility.

"Yes." Gibbs smirked, and wondered how the examiner reacted to the answer to that question.

Ray was surprised at the answer, but it appeared to be true. He continued with the next question on the list. "Do you work at the Pentagon?"

"No."

"Do you own a VW bug?"

"No." Gibbs had to smile at that question. It brought back memories of Tony undercover as an escaped prisoner.

"Do you Speak Russian."

"Da."

"Respond in English only, please, Mr. Gibbs." Ray responded quickly.

"Yes."

"Have you ever stolen anything worth more than $100 from an employer?"

"No."

Ray looked hard at the next question. It was a question that should never be asked on any polygraph exam. He hesitated, looked at the mirror on the wall, not seeing who might be behind it. "Have you ever participated in a Black Op on behalf of the US Government?"

"_Ah, the money question, now we are getting to the reason I am here_," Gibbs thought. "_It's time to not answer truthfully_."

"No."

In the observation room, SecNav moved closer to Simon. He looked over the man's shoulder trying to decipher the monitoring on the screen. "Was that the truth or a lie?" SecNav asked Simon.

Simon waited and looked at the response a little more closely. Sometimes the subject didn't have a reaction for up to 30 seconds after the question was answered. "It appears he is telling the truth, Sir." Simon could tell by the SecNav's reaction that wasn't the answer that he wanted.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N Sorry for the delay. Real Life was a little hectic. Hopefully I will update again before the end of the week.

Also a big think you to Gottahavemyncis for being beta on this chapter. Sorry for forgetting to give her kudos when I first published the chapter weeks ago.

* * *

><p>SecNav swore under his breath, "that son of a bitch!"<p>

Simon tensed up even though he knew the wrath was not directed at him. SecNav was still over his left shoulder, looking through the one way glass at the subject, apparently oblivious to others in the room. SecNav stepped back from where he was standing, turned slightly and started speaking to no one in particular, "I knew he was part of black ops, but never expected he could lie like that! Son of a bitch! The bastard! Vance is gonna pay for this! He should have let me know I had someone I could use for secret missions! Gibbs should have been used for special assignments all along! With his background! The ops we could have run!" SecNav pulled out his phone and called his secretary "Ellen, its Clayton. Make an appointment with Director Vance, as soon as possible. And pull all files for a Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Marines, Marine Reserves, NCIS, and any other files you can find. Thanks Ellen." He ended the call then turned back to the one-way glass and said a last "Son of a bitch!"

In the interview room, Ray saw that the last response was the truth. He looked at the paper in front of him to see what question he was supposed to ask next. Instead of a question, the directions were, if the answer to the last question was no, which it was, based on the machine if the answer was the truth, he should skip to the questions on page 5.

Gibbs heard the examiner shuffling pages. He deduced that there was a list of questions, and based on his answers, the questions may have changed.

Ray read the question before he asked it. He swallowed hard before asking, "Were your wife and daughter killed in a car crash?"

Gibbs suddenly lost control of his heart rate, his breathing, and his sweat glands. He expected a question about Shannon and Kelly. He knew it was fair game, but when he actually heard it, it still caused a response in him that he was unable to control. He did everything he could to get his body back under his control as quickly as possible.

Ray saw a sudden spike on all biometric monitoring on the computer in front of him. Then, almost as suddenly as the spike occurred, the lines on all the monitoring went normal readings again. He quickly looked at the subject, but he didn't see any difference in the man's expression.

Simon in the observation room also saw the spike, the first change in the readings from the subject. SecNav's attention was also drawn to the spike. He muttered under his breathe "a weakness in Agent Gibbs' armor."

Ray kept watching the feedback on the screen, beyond that first spike, nothing. At that point, he realized that the subject was able to beat a polygraph. All answers to any of the questions would be considered inconclusive, a waste of time. In a way, Ray felt relieved. He didn't like the circumstances of this examination, it wasn't normal and it wasn't fair. Now he knew they were just fishing, trying to find out if the subject was able to beat the polygraph.

Finally Gibbs answered the question that was asked, "Yes."

As SecNav Jarvis was still seething, his phone rang. He looked at his phone and saw it was the Secretary of Defense Panetta. He answered "Secretary Jarvis".

"What the hell are you doing to me, Clayton?" Were the first words that met his ear.

"Excuse me, Sir?" Jarvis answered, confused about what the Secretary was talking about.

"I received a phone call from our cousins over at Langley! They tell me you are digging in the wrong sandbox. What are you doing pulling in agents for polygraphs who are either exempt or not due?" Secretary of Defense angrily hissed through the phone.

"I was establishing baseline and identifying…"

Before Jarvis could finish, Secretary of Defense interrupted, "You were fishing and prying into what you have no business, nor clearance to look into!" Panetta yelled. "Shut it down, Clayton, Now! I don't want to hear any more about this from Langley, this is well beyond your scope of authority, well beyond your 'need to know'! Jarvis, I recommended you for this job, with behavior like this, you make me look like an idiot. I don't like it when anyone makes me look like an idiot, especially someone who takes orders from me. I better not hear any more about this, Secretary of the Navy Jarvis, or next time I speak with you, I won't need to use that title before your name!" Without waiting for any comment from Jarvis, Secretary of Defense Panetta hung up.

Before Jarvis could do anything, two agents entered the observation room. At the same time two agents entered the interview room. One agent in each room announced "We are shutting down this polygraph test. Step away from the computer. We are confiscating it." In the interview room, the agent that was doing the talking turned to Ray, "Please remove the monitoring devices from Agent Gibbs."

Ray jumped up from the computer, the 'Agent Gibbs' wasn't lost on him, this man was a Federal Agent. Which agency, he had no idea. He nearly ran to unhook Gibbs from the monitoring devices. Ray looked pleadingly at the agent. "I'm sorry Agent Gibbs, I was just doing what I was told."

"Never apologize, it's a sign of weakness." Gibbs growled at the man. "I know it's not your fault, you were just following orders."

Ray looked in the agent's eyes and saw that he didn't blame him at all in this debacle. He finished unhooking the man from the monitoring devices. "OK, you're OK to go, Sir"

Gibbs stood up as he said "Don't call me sir, I work for a living." And he strode out the door.

At the same time, inside the observation room, after the agents entered and announced themselves, Simon stepped away from his computer. SecNav slipped out of the room before anyone directly asked him any questions.

After the four agents secured the computers in both the interview room and the observation room, Gibbs left. Both Ray and Simon were detained for debriefing. SecNav was allowed to leave. He'd be taken care of later.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N - First, I deserve a headslap, probably more than one. I forgot to acknowledge Gottahavemyncis for being my beta for Chapter 5. And I want to give her another hand for reviewing this chapter for me as well. She also has given me some great ideas as I am about to continue on with the story.

Thanks to all who have taken the time to review the story, and the many others who have the story on alert. I really appreciate the feedback!

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><p>Gibbs smirked as he left the building. The crew came through, just in time. He had no idea what kind of questions would have been asked after the one about Shannon and Kelly. He knew, when he heard that question, that whoever was behind this wasn't playing fair. They were out to manipulate him and maybe his team. The only person he could think of who would want to do that, and had the power to even attempt to get him and his team into a polygraph exam, and who was conniving and downright manipulative was SecNav.<p>

Gibbs reached his truck. Another thought popped into his head just as he grabbed the truck door handle. Maybe it wasn't SecNav who was behind all this. Maybe it was someone manipulating him. Gibbs opened the truck's door and slipped behind the wheel. Just before he put his key in the ignition, his phone rang.

He answered with his normal deadpan greeting "Gibbs."

"Agent Gibbs, your uncle took care of the problem. The kids are off the hook and won't have to participate in the little game of truth or dare. We will be in contact, we need to debrief you on this matter." *Click* The person hung up.

Gibbs closed his phone and slipped it in his pocket. He put the key in the ignition and started the truck. Rule #40 popped into his mind. "If it seems someone is out to get you, they probably are." As Gibbs drove out of the parking lot, he said in a low, gravely whisper to no one within earshot "Oh yeah! Game on!"

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><p>Gibbs exited the elevator and headed for his desk, a cup of coffee in each hand. As he passed DiNozzo's desk, Tony said "Double fisting the coffee, boss? Not a good sign!"<p>

"Two coffees are better than no coffee, DiNozzo!" Gibbs retorted.

"You got a point there, boss!" Tony returned.

Gibbs sat at his desk, took a sip out of one of his cups, then said "Polygraphs have been canceled. For everyone."

Three sets of astonished eyes, with equally astonished mouths hanging opened, turned toward Gibbs sitting at his desk. Gibbs looked up at his team and saw the faces. "What?"

Gibbs' phone rang before anyone responded. He looked at the caller id, 'Vance', he wondered what took the director so long to call. "Gibbs" he answered.

"My Office. Now!" Vance hung up.

Gibbs looked up toward the director's office and licked his lips. He knew the director wanted to be briefed on the morning's events.

Gibbs looked at his team. "I used my charm to convince the powers that be that you didn't need polygraphs! What more do ya want from me?" He grabbed one of his coffees and headed toward the director's office, bounding up the stairs two at a time.

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><p>After Gibbs left, Tony finally dared to speak, "The boss has charm?"<p>

"Four marriages. He probably has a little charm hidden under than stone cold exterior," Ziva offered.

"I find him very charming at times," McGee chimed in.

Both Tony and Ziva glared at McGee. They both walked over to him and gave him simultaneous head slaps.

"What was that for?" McGee whined.

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><p>Gibbs walked through the open door into the director's office.<p>

"Close the door, Agent Gibbs" Leon said from his position behind his desk as soon as the agent was through the door.

Gibbs shut the door behind him.

"What happened?" Vance questioned Gibbs, cocking an eyebrow as he asked his questions. "Anything I have clearance to hear about?"

"Made a call yesterday. Wasn't sure if it was enough time, but the exam was shutdown only a few questions in." Gibbs shrugged as he explained, like he was describing the weather.

"And?" Vance added.

"I don't think this is the end," Gibbs added.

"Ya think, Gibbs?" Vance retorted back at Gibbs.

Gibbs had a wry half-grin at Vance's use of one of his sarcastic phrases, "Oh Yeah! I think, Leon. Jarvis is involved. Not sure if he is pulling the strings or if his strings are being pulled, but I'm sure he's involved, and I'm sure he isn't done." Gibbs eyes were locked with Leon's as he remained stationery in front of Vance's desk.

Vance looked away first as he stood up and turned to look out the window at the Navy Yard, "I have a meeting with SecNav tomorrow morning. The invite showed up about 8:09 AM."

Gibbs answered "That's about the time I was in the middle of the exam. Jarvis is involved in this somehow, Leon. I don't know how well you know him, but I don't like what he seems to be doing. My gut is churning like it never has before" Gibbs glared with knitted eyebrows at the director.

"Gibbs, as much as I hate to admit it, your gut is usually a better warning indicator than any other early warning system we have within NCIS. As much as I want to discredit it, and go with a logically deduced response, I know your gut 'got it'. Go with it. Find out if SecNav is getting too involved, Lord knows he has already butted his nose into our business too many times since he took over. First with DiNozzo's special assignment, then with the family trying to seek asylum, and next when Lt. Flores was MIA. He'd been micromanaging and meddlesome, which was annoying, but now he appears to be doing something worse, far worse. And I don't like it!" Vance stared at Gibbs for a few seconds.

Gibbs nodded in agreement with Vance's little speech, and started to turn toward the door.

Leon called after him, "Gibbs! Keep it under the radar, we don't want Jarvis, or anyone else to get wind of what we might be investigating! Don't take any action on any information that you might find. Bring it to me. We'll go through proper channels if necessary." Vance stuck a toothpick into the corner of his mouth, an indication that he was done.

Gibbs nodded, "Will do, Leon." Then turned and left the office.

Leon turned and looked out at the Anacostia River. He thought about his old friend, Clayton Jarvis. He was always looking to get ahead, was always scheming, but it was never harmful. That was nearly 20 years ago when he was attending the War College and Jarvis had been attending the College for ELOC. Then, they were on the same team for the War Gaming competition two years in a row. He thought about the strategy that Jarvis brought to the team all those years ago. Now that he analyzed it a little more, Vance realized that Jarvis was overbearing and wanted to control and manipulate the team into doing things his way, and when he didn't get what he wanted, he tended to manipulate and coerce the other team members. 'Typical passive-aggressive behavior', Vance thought as he realized that Gibbs was right, Jarvis wasn't done.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N Sorry for the delay. I start to write and get writer's block at the most in opportune times. It usually coincides with work getting more demanding. A big thank you to GottahavemyNCIS for being my beta for the story. I hope you like it.

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><p>Gibbs came down the stairs and walked over to his desk as 3 sets of eyes followed his movement. When Gibbs got to his desk, he opened the drawer where he had stowed his firearm, removed it and armed himself.<p>

"We catch a case, boss?" Tony asked.

"No, DiNozzo. Field Trip!" Gibbs started out of the bullpen, stopped, turned and looked at his agents still frozen in their seats at their desks, faces with quizzical expressions. He motioned with his arm as he said, "C'mon!"

All three agents quickly followed their boss into the elevator. After the doors closed and the elevator started its descent, Gibbs flipped the switch to stop the movement. He turned to face his team, positioned slightly behind him in the elevator.

"Are we still going on the field trip boss?" came out of Tony's mouth before he had a chance to stop it, and just as quickly he felt the sting on the back of his head, after the squeal came out of his mouth, he managed a few words, "Thank you, boss!"

"Consider yourselves under constant surveillance" Gibbs told the three agents in front of him. "It appears that SecNav is out to get me and you, my team, are considered fair game."

Gibbs turned back to face the door of the elevator and flipped the switch to make the elevator start moving again, "But we'll get him, oh, we will get him!"

"Boss?" Tony asked, hoping for more information.

"What, Tony?" Gibbs responded.

DiNozzo was a bit worried. Gibbs never referred to him by his given name, it was always 'DiNozzo', and this was not a good sign. He kinda cringed when he asked the next question, almost expecting a head slap. "Where are we going on the field trip?"

"To my coffee dealer. No surveillance there." Gibbs answered as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out. "McGee, call Abby and Ducky, tell them to join us."

The team followed Gibbs as he navigated his way past the Navy Yard gates, Across M street, north onto 8th street, under the Southeast Freeway overpass to Gibbs' diner.

The team entered the diner almost in awe. They glanced around taking in Gibbs' inner sanctum. They had a certain reverence entering it for the first time. It was almost like they stepped back into a diner from a bygone era, jukeboxes on each table, stools at the counter, kitchen in the back. "This is so Gibbs!" Tony said looking around, giving a smile at the waitress who was filling coffee mugs and gave him a bit of a glare. He followed after Gibbs, slightly scared that he would be cast out weeping into a great darkness and gnashing of teeth if he did anything to upset the feng shui of Gibbs' diner.

Gibbs was already at a booth at the far end of the diner. Ziva and Tim were right behind him, Tony caught up quickly. They sat in the booth, Ziva & Gibbs on one side of the booth, Tim & Tony on the other.

Elaine saw Gibbs enter the diner, followed by 3 other people she didn't recognize. One stopped and looked around rather amused with a big smile on his face. He noticed her as she was filling 4 cups of coffee and she glared at him, in a 'what? Have you never seen a diner?' way, that seemed to send him scurrying after the group he had entered with. Elaine noticed that instead of his usual place at the counter, Gibbs headed toward the end of the diner and settled into a booth with the team. She filled 4 mugs of coffee and took them to the table.

"Thanks, Elaine." Gibbs smiled at her as she placed the four mugs of coffee on the table in front of him. Gibbs grabbed a cup immediately put it to his lips and swallowed a large mouthful of his favorite coffee.

Elaine Nodded. "You're welcome, Gibbs. And what would the three of you like?" She asked as she stood poised to take the orders of the remaining guests at the table.

McGee pointed at the three other coffees in front of Gibbs, "Aren't those for us?"

"No, sir. They're for Gibbs. Can't deal with him if he has any less." Elaine shared, "And if I were you, I wouldn't touch 'em. Rule #23."

"You know Rule #23?" Tony asked, wide eyed. Then looking at Gibbs, "I thought you only shared the rules with us, boss?"

"The rules are taught on a 'need to know' basis, DiNozzo, and Elaine needed to know Rule #23," Gibbs growled at the younger agent as he took another sip of his coffee. "DiNozzo, McGee, and David." Gibbs pointed to each member of his team as he introduced them to the waitress. "And this is Elaine, the best waitress in the DC metro area."

Each of the agents greeted the waitress in their own way.

"Hello, Elaine." Tony said and flashed his smile again.

"It is very nice to meet you." Ziva said.

"Hi, ma'am," McGee said.

"So, y'all figure out what you want to order yet?" Elaine asked as Gibbs set down the first mug, empty.

"I'll take a half skim double latte with cinnamon," McGee ordered.

Gibbs smiled and lowered his head as he picked up his second mug. Elaine smiled, "Well, McGee. That sounds like a really nice drink, and I'd like to bring it to you if I could, but at this dinner we have coffee, tea, hot chocolate, coke, diet coke, sprite, orange juice, tomato juice or water. Oh, and the water is city water, direct from the tap."

"Oh, uh, coffee, please. Do you have sugar & cream?" McGee questioned.

"Yes. I'll make sure I bring plenty. We always have extras since Gibbs never uses any and his orders make up half our coffee, so we have an order imbalance, we're still trying to get it right after all these years." Elaine continued, "And you, DiNozzo?"

"Coffee for me too, Ma'am, and bring plenty of that sugar & cream, you must have it stockpiled in a storage locker somewhere!" DiNozzo smiled knowingly, saw Gibbs glare, wiped the smile off his face then asked, "And do you have pie?"

"Yes sir! We have the best pie this side of the Mississippi! Apple, Peach, Pecan, Cherry, and Chocolate." Elaine rattled off.

"I'll take a piece of Pecan pie." DiNozzo's mouth was already watering, "with a scoop of Vanilla?" He asked hopefully.

"A mighty fine combination, sweetie." Elaine said as she wrote the order on her pad. "And for you, young lady?" Elaine turned toward Ziva.

"Tea, please, and do you have a slice of lemon?" Ziva asked.

"Sure thing, sweetie. That all? Anything else for anyone?" All at the table shook their head as Elaine tucked her ordering pad into her apron pocket and cleared the mug that Gibbs had already drained. "I'll be right back, you need anything, just wave."

As Elaine was about to go behind the counter, the diner door opened and Abby entered, "Elaine! How are you!" the forensic scientist gushed as she approached the woman and gave her a huge hug.

"Abby! It's so nice to see you! I'll have a Caf-Pow out in a second. You with Gibbs and his friends?" Elaine asked, nodding toward the end of the diner.  
>"Friends?" Abby looked at the waitress quizzically, then looked in the direction Elaine had nodded her head. Abby giggled as she saw who the 'friends' were. "Oh, you mean the kids!"<p>

"What kids?" asked Ducky as he caught up with the exuberant Abby.

"Gibbs' kids." Abby explained to the confused Ducky.

"Hello Ducky!" Elaine greeted the medical examiner. "The usual?"

"Yes, thank you, Elaine." Ducky looked down toward the end of the diner and saw Team Gibbs taking up the booth at the end, "I shall be in the back." Ducky relayed to the duo then headed down to the booth.  
>Abby gave another quick hug to the waitress, "it is so good to see you again." Then headed down to join her colleagues.<p>

Elaine smiled. Abby had one of those personalities that could brighten the darkest day and she always enjoyed having the woman stop by any time she was able.

From his vantage point, Gibbs watched 'whirlwind Abby' as she entered and engulfed Elaine in a hug. He nodded at Ducky who had entered right behind Abby. He surmised they probably drove the few blocks; Abby was wearing a pair of those industrial strength high-heeled boots she loved to wear. He couldn't figure out why anyone would wear a pair of them on purpose, let alone be able to walk in them.

Ducky pulled a couple chairs from the corner so that he and Abby would have a place to sit, but when Abby arrived, instead of taking a chair, she moved into the booth next to Gibbs. Gibbs moved into the booth, closer to Ziva. It was a tight squeeze with the three of them in a seat designed for two.

"I always wanted to have a Gibbs sandwich!" Abby smiled "How about you Ziva?"

"Abs!" Gibbs voice warned.

"What! You don't want to be the beefcake to my slice of bread?"

Elaine interrupted any response as she brought everyone's order and placed it in front of them. McGee's coffee, Tony's Coffee & pecan pie, Ziva's tea, Abby's caf-pow and a pot of brewed tea for Ducky and a mug. And she refilled the two empty mugs with steaming hot coffee for Gibbs. "You all set?"

"We're good for now, Elaine. We'll let you know if we need anything, thanks." Gibbs said.

After Elaine had left and was behind the counter, Gibbs started to explain what the 'field trip' was all about. "Vance has given the go ahead to find out why SecNav is investigating me, us." Gibbs looked around the table at the expressions of his team members; all showed a resolute determination that they were all-in.

"McGee! I need you to find our anything you can about SecNav on the internet. You can't do it from the Navy Yard; you need to use an internet connection which can never be traced back to you or NCIS."

"I can use the local Universities and log onto the wi-fi connections available on their campuses."

"Just don't stay connected long enough for them to track you, or get caught by any surveillance cameras they might have on campus," Abby interjected, very concerned for McGee.

"Don't worry Abby. I'll route through international servers and spoof my ip and mac addresses, they shouldn't even be able to trace me to the universities, but I will move often so I'm not connected at one place for more than 20 minutes at a time."

Gibbs continued "Tony, tail SecNav when he leaves The **P**entagon. Where does he go, who does he speak to, anything that might be out of the ordinary for a man in his position."

"On it boss."

"Be extra vigilant, Tony. Don't get caught by cameras, any hint you might be compromised, abort."

"Understood." Tony responded with his serious voice.

"Ziva, see what you can find out from your international connections. Again, be discrete. Don't go through any sources that might alert the SecNav."

"I can do that, Gibbs." Ziva responded.

"Abby, we may have to run forensic evidence that we don't want documented."

"Gibbs, whatever you need me to do, I can make it happen." The forensic scientist smiled and gave Gibbs a slightly awkward hug from her close proximity.

"Duck, can you work up a psych profile on SecNav?"

"That** I** can do, Jethro. I may need the info that Timothy digs up before I can properly do an assessment."

"You'll get as much as McGee can dig up, Duck. You might also want to talk to Vance. Vance worked with him years ago."

"I'll do that Jethro."

"And what are you going to do boss?" Tony asked.

"I'm going to go talk to former SecNav Philip Davenport." Gibbs finished the last of the coffee mugs in front of him. "Be extremely careful. Any hint that anything might be hinky, walk away. We'll meet in my basement tonight at 2100 hours and go over what we have."

Acknowledgments from everyone at the table followed.

"Go on. Get started."

"What about the bill, boss?" McGee asked taking out his wallet.

"I got it. Just get out of here and start on this. Otherwise it is going to come back to bite me, us, before we realize it."

Before Gibbs changed his mind about paying the bill, the team scrambled out of the booth and headed to their separate assignments. Elaine came to the table after the commotion settled down. "Everything OK, Gibbs?" the waitress asked.

"Everything is OK, Elaine, but if you wouldn't mind saying a prayer for me and my team, we sure could use it right now." Gibbs smiled as he laid the money for the bill and a generous tip on the table.

"I always keep you in my prayers, Gibbs. As I do for all my favorite regulars! I'll also say an extra prayer for all the others as well." Elaine took the money that was left.

Gibbs gave Elaine a peck on the cheek. "Thanks. I can always use a prayer."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N – There may be spoilers from Season 8 – 'Pyramid' and Season 9 episodes 'Nature of the Beast' and 'Housekeeping'. Thanks for all the reviews and to those who have put the story on alert. A big thank you to GottaHaveMyNCIS for being my beta and suggesting the fixes so the chapter is readable enough to post. Thanks for continuing to read the story. I hope you continue to enjoy this chapter.

I have also created a twitter account for my writing persona. I'll tweet updates, and other items that pertain to my writing. Feel free to follow me, I follow back. Thanks.

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><p>Gibbs parked in Davenport's driveway and looked around. His old pickup truck looked out of place in such an upscale neighborhood. He wasn't sure what the former SecNav was doing now. Was he retired? Did he find another job? No on-site security since he wasn't intercepted on his way to the front door. Gibbs pressed the doorbell. He could hear a distant chime coming from inside the house. He waited. Finally the door was opened.<p>

"Agent Gibbs!"

"EJ?"

"Yeah, I'm staying with my Uncle for a little while. Until I decide what I want to do next." Neither EJ nor Gibbs said anything further for an awkward moment of silence. Finally EJ broke it, "So….I'm pretty sure you aren't here to see me. Is Uncle Philip expecting you? He hadn't mentioned that you might be stopping by."

"No, he isn't. Just passing by and decided to stop and say hello. That a problem?"

"No. No problem, Agent Gibbs." EJ tried to be cordial, but she really didn't like the older agent. She felt that he treated her without the respect that she deserved. She opened the door wider, "Come in. Uncle Philip is in the library, I'll take you there."

Gibbs entered the house and EJ shut the door behind him. "This way." Gibbs followed EJ through the house to a set of closed double doors. EJ opened them spoke, "Uncle Philip, Agent Gibbs to see you." EJ announced as Gibbs walked past her into the room. She closed the door behind him.

"Hello, Sir"

"Gibbs! I didn't expect to see you again, at least not so soon." The older man arose from the chair he was sitting in and walked over toward Gibbs.

"Neither did I, Sir." Gibbs extended his hand to shake the former SecNav's hand. Davenport looked the same as he always did, not much changed, but it had only been a year since he left his position.

"Don't call me 'Sir' Gibbs. I don't have the title of SecNav anymore, I'm just a civilian." Davenport responded to Gibbs as he moved toward a cabinet built into the wall, surrounded by bookshelves.

"So what should I call you? Philip? Davenport?"

"Davenport is fine, Agent Gibbs. Do you still drink bourbon?" Davenport asked as opened the cabinet that appeared to hold many fine brands of liquor.

"Oh Yeah!" Gibbs replied.

Davenport poured a generous amount of Knob Creek Single barrel reserve into two glasses. He gave one to Gibbs and kept one for himself. "So, what brings you out to see me?"

"Would you believe it if I said I just wanted to say hi?" Gibbs smirked.

"You come out here just to socialize? Like that would ever happen." Davenport smiled and took a sip from his glass.

"I want to get your take on Clayton Jarvis, the new SecNav, what do you know about him, and how dangerous can he be?" Gibbs asked as he took a sip of the glass that Davenport had handed to him. "Good stuff!" Gibbs said holding up the glass and looking at it more closely.

SecNav gave a slight laugh, "Yeah, it is. One of the best!" he took another swig from his glass of bourbon. "Gibbs, I have no idea how anyone who is sane could have selected Clayton Jarvis as SecNav. He has been a lobbyist for the past 10 years, before that, he was an egocentric asshole who was able to move up the Navy ranks for a reason that is beyond my comprehension. He is dangerous! You need to watch yourself, and your team, if he is involved in any operational decision. He isn't going to make decisions based on what is good for the Navy, he's going to make them based on what is good for him, how can he look good."

"He's already tried to polygraph me." Gibbs shared.

"He's trying to pull a power play. You're just a pawn in some sort of scheme he has cooked up."

"Uh-huh"

"So, he's already stepped on Superman's cape." Davenport smiled at Gibbs as the agent looked down uncomfortable with the words, "I've heard the stories. Hell! I've read the SitReps from over the years**,** I know all you are capable of, Gibbs. Never thought Jarvis was that stupid. Hmmm. Maybe he can be beaten down before he causes too much damage." Davenport shared just before he drained the last of the bourbon that was in his glass. "Can your contacts make him go away?"

"Not sure. They shut down the polygraph as it was happening, but I'm not sure what the extent of the action was beyond that." Gibbs shared. "I also wonder if it is Jarvis making the decisions, or if someone is pulling his strings. Would that be possible?"

Davenport refilled his glass "Jarvis is an egocentric ass, but if someone stroked him right, they could control him, so that is not out of the realm of possibility. You still working on that boat in your basement?"

"Nah! That was done a couple years ago, but still doing other projects. I might need to start a new boat soon." Gibbs shared.

"Ah! No doubt it will be a beauty." SecNav said.

Gibbs smiled, "**T**hey all are." Getting serious again, Gibbs continued. "Davenport, we had a case that involved the Watcher Fleet. Jarvis was involved in various ways throughout. He manipulated DiNozzo. It was this case that caused EJ to go underground. Not sure if Jarvis was part of it, or was just doing his buddy, Latham, a favor."

Davenport stared at Gibbs. This was the first he heard of this, "Sean Latham?"

"Yeah."

"Jarvis was a lobbyist for his company. You know that?"

"No!" Gibbs had no idea. "You know Latham is dead?"

"What?" Davenport exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah. Pretty sure he was killed by one of his men, Jonathan Cole. Same guy who was after EJ." Gibbs explained. "What bothers me most is that I gave Jarvis the location of a safe house on Old Rag Mountain. Cole destroyed it. I had given Jarvis the address of a fake safe house. EJ and DiNozzo were in another safe house twenty miles away. Jarvis is the only person who could have relayed that information. The question is, did he do it intentionally or is he just that dumb?"

Davenport didn't answer at first; he realized that his niece, EJ, could have been killed because of Jarvis. Finally, in a very serious tone, "Are you sure about this, Gibbs?"

"Surer than I've ever been in my life!" Gibbs said, staring directly into the former SecNav's gaze, before he turned to look out the window, swallowed before continuing, "Makes me sick just thinking about what might have happened if I had givenSecNav the real safe house location." The thought that DiNozzo could have been killed because the SecNav had a secret agenda not only made him sick, it also made him angry.

"Let me see what I can find, Gibbs. I still have plenty of contacts, although none are official. What are you doing about this? Or are you?"

"Leon gave me and my team the OK to check out Jarvis, doing it on the QT. There is something there, Davenport. If you know anything, it would really help."

"Gibbs, I really don't know if Jarvis is bad or not, but I wouldn't trust him with a dinner order at McDonald's." Davenport finished the second glass of bourbon. "Gibbs, there is another resource outside of the chain of command that you can use."

"Sir?"

"EJ. She is an investigator, on leave of absence. She's just hanging around here trying to figure out what she wants to do next. I am sure she would want to be a part of this."

Gibbs gave a little laugh, "I don't know about that. We, ah, didn't necessarily hit it off when we worked together last time."

"Don't let your personalities get in the way. Jarvis screwed her over as much as he did you and your team. You may not get along, but she will be highly motivated and will be on your side." Davenport tried to convince Gibbs. "Besides, if you can get along with Leon, getting along with EJ should be a breeze."

"Don't know about that. I understand Leon. Still don't understand women." Gibbs finished his glass of bourbon.

Davenport laughed, "You and me both, Gibbs!"

"I'm concerned that EJ isn't completely off Jarvis' radar yet. If she starts poking around and is found out, it could turn bad very quickly." Gibbs said with concern in his voice.

Davenport looked at Gibbs, considering what he just said. "What if we ask her? If she understands the risks, and is willing to help out, you want her?"

Gibbs said nothing as he thought about. Finally he nodded in agreement.

The former SecNav left the library to go find EJ. Five minutes later she followed Davenport back into the room, stopping just after entering the double doors, leaving them open behind her as if she could have an easy escape route if things went bad between her and Gibbs.

Gibbs spoke to EJ, "He explain what's going on to you?"

"Yeah Gibbs. I want in. The son of a bitch had a part in screwing me over, and I want to take him down if I can!" EJ stood with her arms folded, trying to make herself bigger than her stature, but failing miserably.

"We don't need loose cannon out for a vendetta. Can you be objective about this?" Gibbs asked.

EJ blinked, astonished that Gibbs didn't think she could be objective about this, and then she thought about it and realized she did hold a deep seated resentment about the events of the past 9 months. But was she going to do this to settle a score or was she going to do this because it was the right thing to do. She thought a few more seconds and came to peace with the fact that it wasn't about her, it was much bigger than her. "I can be objective about this, Gibbs."

Gibbs just looked at her, reading her expression and body language. Finally he decided she was telling what she thought was the truth. "OK. You're in. 2100, my basement." He started toward the doors of the library on his way out of the house.

"Gibbs, I'll send any info I get through EJ." Davenport said after him, "and we'll get this bastard before he knows what hit him!"

Gibbs waved in acknowledgment as he continued down the hall and showed himself out the front door.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for all the reviews and the alerts for this story. Again a big thanks to Gottahavemyncis for being my beta. Hope you continue to enjoy the story. Any questions, comments or criticism, please let me know. You can also follow me on twitter Luminosity45. Enjoy!

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><p>Vance loved going to The Pentagon, there always was an atmosphere of authority, order, honor and respect. It was one of the things he liked about the military. So it was ironic that this visit seemed to be based on none of those. Secretary Jarvis had called him to a meeting at his office with hardly any notice. Usually, when he was called into a meeting like this it was because of Gibbs. He usually had to smooth over some feathers that the agent had ruffled in his search for the truth. While he didn't always agree with the methods the Senior Agent in Charge used to get the job done, he couldn't deny the results. Gibbs had the best record in the agency at closing cases. Their relationship was downright contentious at times, but there was an underlying understanding and respect of each other, even if neither was able to verbalize it or even exhibit it at times. This time he was called in for a different reason, even though it still involved Gibbs. The polygraph was involved with this somehow. He needed to be careful in the chess game that was about to be played with the SecNav.<p>

Vance finally arrived at the Secretary of the Navy's office after walking what seemed like a mile through the halls of The Pentagon. He opened the door to the outer office and greeted the administrative assistant that was sitting at a desk next to the door to the inner office. "Hello, Ellen. How's the family?"

"Doing well, Director Vance. George just graduated high school this year. He was accepted to the Air Force Academy." Turning to a whisper "But we don't discuss that too loudly around here." Ellen smiled then picked up the phone, dialed a few numbers and after a few seconds "Director Vance to see you Secretary Jarvis." She hung up after a few moments, and then turned to Vance, "Secretary Jarvis will be with you momentarily."

"Thanks Ellen." Vance took a seat on one of the chairs against the wall opposite Ellen's desk. As he sat there, he thought about how Jarvis had been micro-managing NCIS since he took over as SecNav. Davenport let NCIS do their thing and only asked for updates at the quarterly meetings. He never tried to 'handle the agency'. Even since Jarvis took over, he has inserted himself in too many investigations, wanting to be informed of everything. Was it a sign of him not trusting Vance, or was it something more? Vance decided not to take it personally, since it seemed that Gibbs was part of it, and so was DiNozzo at some point. There was more to it; he wondered what Jarvis was up to.

"Hello, Leon!" Jarvis stuck his hand out in greeting as he exited his office.

"Secretary Jarvis. Good to see you." Leon shook hands with his boss as they both entered the inner office.

"Would you like anything to drink? Coffee, Tea, Water?" Jarvis offered.

"No, I'm good, Sir." Leon said as he stood there thinking 'let's just get on with why I'm here.'

"Please, have a seat, Leon." Jarvis said as he returned to his place behind his desk. He gestured toward the chairs placed in front of his desk. "You're probably wondering why I asked you here today."

Vance took a seat at the same time Jarvis did. "The thought had crossed my mind, Secretary Jarvis."

"Well, a situation has been brought to my attention, Leon. It seems that one of your agents has not completed his regular polygraph exams as required by the agency."

"Sir, every one of my agents who is required to take an exam has had their regularly scheduled polygraph; I pull the report myself every month. Of course, there are a few agents, who, for classified reasons, are not required to undergo the exams."

"Leon, I have known you for a long time and I have never known you to let things go as unorganized as you have let NCIS get over the past several years." Vance's eyebrows rose at the accusation. It was almost as if Jarvis completely ignored what he had said. Jarvis sat back in his chair relishing his position in this meeting.

Vance felt like he was hit with a ton of bricks. His first reaction was to defensively defend his agency and his actions, and then realized that Jarvis was playing him. It was a chess game. "Sir? I am not sure what you are talking about."

"Leon, you know what I am talking about. Agent Gibbs has not had a full polygraph during the entire time he has been an NCIS agent."

Vance made Jarvis expose his cards first, so he was after Gibbs, just as the both of them had deduced. "Sir, if you have read his file, you know that he is exempt. There are reasons that certain people are exempt from Polygraphs."

"I understand that, Director Vance. People are exempt from polygraphs when they are trained to beat them. That is exactly why we need Agent Gibbs on a covert special ops mission."

Vance was a little taken back. He thought the SecNav was after Gibbs to get him out of the agency, and it turns out that he wanted to use the agent. "Sir, Gibbs has been on many special ops over the years he was with the Marines, Marines Reserves and with NCIS. At this point in his career, Agent Gibbs is more valuable as a field agent and team leader. He is more valuable imparting his knowledge to younger agents and interrogating the bad guys. I would not suggest he be assigned to a covert mission, but I would not stop you from passing it by him and seeing if he would want to do it." Vance was pretty sure that Gibbs would not want to do a special assignment for anyone, let alone the SecNav. He wasn't happy with the way SecNav used DiNozzo. He smiled; he really would like to be in the room when SecNav asked Gibbs.

"Leon, I am pretty sure that I can convince Agent Gibbs to be part of this assignment. In fact, it is more of a formality that I inform you that I am going to take Agent Gibbs for a special assignment, Director Vance. You should be able to get along without him for a couple weeks.

"Sir, I'm pretty sure that Agent Gibbs is not going to agree to participate. Remember his reaction when you took DiNozzo for the special assignment a few months back. He was not very happy." Vance had a slight grin on his face. He was just hoping this was not going to blow up in his face. He was very happy to let SecNav deal with Gibbs in this matter and leave him out of the loop.

"Leon, I need agent Gibbs on a covert ops assignment to prevent the assassination of The President of The United States."


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for the wonderful reviews and the story alerts. And continued thanks to Gottahavemyncis for being the beta for this story.

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><p>Gibbs was in his basement. He had already poured himself a bourbon. He also had a cooler filled with soda, water, beer all covered in ice. If any of the team wanted anything else, they should bring it with them. He was working on a small project, a child's bedroom set. He was going to give it to Amira for her birthday. It was a twin bed, with drawers underneath for storage, a space for books in the head board. He had already completed the dresser and bed and still had to work on the vanity and the nightstand. He wanted to have it done by the time she started Kindergarten. As he was sanding, he thought about the year Kelly started Kindergarten. He flashed back to when she had just gotten her new school clothes.<p>

_"Daddy! Look at my new school clothes!"_

_Gibbs had just walked in the door and Kelly had immediately zoned in on him. _

_"I'm gonna give you a fashion show!" Kelly grabbed her dad's hand and led him to the couch. "You stay here! I'll be right back!" She ran upstairs. _

_Shannon walked into the living room holding a cold beer, she was smiling. "Kelly is so excited to show you the new school clothes she picked out." She handed him the beer and sat next to him, hugged his arm and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Humor her."_

_Gibbs turned and gave Shannon a kiss on the temple. "I'm sure I will love all the clothes that you two picked out. A fashion show by my daughter, I can watch anytime, especially if I'm sitting next to you." Gibbs wrapped his arm around his wife and leaned down, pressed his lips to hers, and felt her lips respond. _

_Just then their daughter bounded down the stairs and yelled 'get a room' when she landed in the living room. _

_Gibbs and Shannon parted but still looked at each other and smiled. "Later." Shannon said through her smile. Gibbs squeezed her slightly with the arm that was already wrapped around her, in acknowledgment of what she had said. _

_Both turned to Kelly. Gibbs had a look of astonishment on his face, overreacting for his daughter, "You, my dear, look absolutely fabulous!"_

_Kelly strutted across the room, pausing to do her best fashion poses at key moments on the 'runway'. After her father's exclamation, "Thank you, my dear! Have your people call my people, we'll do lunch!" She blew him a kiss before running up the stairs to change into her next outfit._

"Got the Pizza, boss!" Tony yelled as he walked down the steps holding up 3 boxes of pizza, shaking Gibbs out of his memories.

"You sure you got enough pizza, DiNozzo?" Gibbs retorted back, not missing a beat.

"Enough for me, not sure about you, the probie and the ninja. Who else is coming?" Tony placed the boxes on Gibbs' workbench. "You said you were bringing the beverages?"

Gibbs pointed to the fridge at the end of the bench, and the cooler next to it.

"Thanks, Boss." Tony said as he twisted the cap off a bottle of beer.

"So, who else is coming?" Tony asked after he took a swig of beer and headed toward the pizza.

"The usual team, DiNozzo." Gibbs paused for a moment, "and probably EJ."

DiNozzo stopped in his tracks and spun faster than Gibbs had ever seen the agent move. "What?" was the only word that erupted from his Senior Agent's mouth.

"She has an interest in this, Tony." Gibbs purposely used the agent's first name to try to put him at ease. "Jarvis not only played you, he played her as well. When I went to see Davenport, she was there. Davenport suggested she could be useful, in part because right now, she is outside of the agency. A wild card."

"Gibbs, she might be put in danger." Tony still cared about her even though their relationship had ended.

"That's what I said, she knows the risks. She wants to do this. If your roles were reversed, would you want in?" Gibbs asked, trying to stem his agent's concern and make him see it from EJ's point of view.

"Of course I would, Boss!"

"Then let her be here. She knows what is at risk for her personally, as well as NCIS. She wants to be part of this. She is still an agent, inactive, but an agent. I can get Vance to reactivate her on the hush-hush, so she will have all the protections of the agency." Gibbs was standing toe to toe with his senior agent, staring directly in his eyes, hoping they conveyed the truth behind his statements.

DiNozzo looked into his boss's eyes and only saw truth. "OK. I get it. I'd do the same thing." DiNozzo visibly relaxed a little bit, signally his acceptance of EJ as part of the team.

"Next time, maybe you'll remember rule #12," Gibbs said into DiNozzo's ear as he passed him, and then left him with a head slap.

Sounds from upstairs indicated that more of the team had arrived.

"McGee, Ziva and Abby" Gibbs said as he went back to sanding his project.

"Boss, as much as I need fiber in my diet, can you refrain from sanding while we are eating?" Gibbs stopped sanding and glared at Tony, "ah, or not. I need as much fiber as I can get in my diet. Thank you Boss!"

Gibbs smiled as he continued sanding the vanity. In a few moments, the people Gibbs had already identified were descending his staircase into the basement. The moment Abby hit the basement floor she was a blur as she headed straight for Gibbs and engulfed him in an Abby-hug. "Gibbs! I didn't hear how the polygraph went, but now that we are all here, in your basement, investigating Jarvis, it couldn't have gone well! I told you we should have practiced the polygraph! It had nothing to do with getting your shirt off, I swear! Not that I hadn't thought about you with your shirt off, or wanted to see what you looked like with your shirt off, but it wasn't my intent. You need to believe me, Gibbs!" Abby spewed out.

Gibbs smiled at the Abby brain dump. "Abby, I mostly believe you." He hugged her back and gave her a kiss on her temple, but even then it took a little while until Abby released her grip.

The rest of the team saw the boxes of pizza and hit them first, then found the soda/water/beer cooler Gibbs had stocked. They were in a feeding frenzy by time Ducky arrived.

"Mr. Palmer had a previous engagement with his fiancé and won't be able to make it tonight, Jethro, but he said he would help with anything that we need." Gibbs smiled and handed the ME a glass with McCallan 18. "Ah, Jethro! You always have the good stuff for me!" The ME held the glass up to toast Gibbs, Gibbs held up his mug of bourbon in return. A smile exchanged between the two men.

As the team interacted, the din hid the arrival of another person. EJ entered the house and descended the steps. She just stood there, waiting for an acknowledgment or an invite. She knew that she hadn't left NCIS and Gibbs' team on the best of terms and knew that she needed to regain their trust for them to really accept her again.

Gibbs knew she was there the moment that she entered his house. He watched her closely as she descended the stairs to the basement. He nodded to her to acknowledge that she was there. She just stood in her place. Ducky, who had perched himself next to Gibbs saw her next. His eyes went wide as he looked at Gibbs and saw that the man clearly had expected her. He turned his attention to the team who was still rather vocal as they consumed the pizza and beverages on the makeshift table in the center of Gibbs basement.

Abby saw EJ first. Her eyes widened and she ran over and gave her a hug. Abby's reaction was noticed by the rest of the team. They became silent and looked over at EJ. In the silence, Gibbs decided he should say something. "EJ is part of the team checking out Jarvis".

That was all he said. After that announcement, Tony walked over to EJ. He looked her in the eye. "Glad to have you as part of the team, EJ."

"Tony. I…I don't, I don't want to be here if it will affect your ability to do what you need to do. Is it OK if I am part of the team on this?" She searched the expression on DiNozzo's face, but he gave nothing away.

"EJ, we need all the help we can get on this. Jarvis played all of us. It might take all of us to figure out what he's trying to do." DiNozzo didn't take his eyes off EJ. He still felt conflicted. He still wasn't sure how he felt personally about EJ, but he knew that she would be a valuable part of the team. "Welcome to Team Gibbs."


	11. Chapter 11

A/N Thanks for all the reviews, feedback and alerts. I have had a burst of an idea and started another story, I hope you read that one as well. The plan is to update both stories at least once a week. Since work has finally become manageable again as of yesterday, I know I'll have the time.

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><p>EJ had been hesitant about joining the team in their quest to figure out what Jarvis was up to, but the invitation from Tony made her realize that she was at least being tolerated and possibly accepted by Team Gibbs. But she wasn't ready to believe that completely, at least not yet.<p>

She walked up to the pizza boxes with all the confidence she could muster and took a slice. Gibbs watched the interaction between his agents and EJ. "Would you like water, soda or beer?" McGee asked EJ.

"I'll have water, thanks McGee."

McGee fetched a bottle of water from the cooler and handed it to EJ.

"Thanks, McGee" she smiled.

"How have you been?" Ziva asked EJ gently, aware of the apprehension that had washed over EJ as she entered the basement.

"OK. Been hanging at my uncle's estate trying to figure out what I'm gonna do next."

"Figure it out yet?"

"Not yet. Too many options"

Ziva and EJ looked at each other. They locked eyes. The unspoken understanding that they formed at the safe house passed between them again. They understood each other and connected with each other on a level the men around them would never understand. Both had overcome relatives in power who had controlled their careers. "Welcome to the team, EJ" Ziva, who was not comfortable with contact when she first joined the team, reached out and gave EJ a hug. Ziva had gotten use to the form of affection from Abby and knew it was the proper way to welcome the woman to the team.

EJ realized that at that moment, she wouldn't have any issues with Ziva. In fact, if anything, she could probably trust Ziva more than anyone else in the room, except maybe Gibbs. As much as she butted heads with Gibbs, she knew that he always had his team members' backs. She was now a member of his team, maybe an unofficial, temporary member but she knew that didn't make any difference in his eyes.

McGee was next, he reached out his hand and EJ offered hers. "Welcome to the team EJ."

"Thanks McGee." EJ smiled at him. She looked around, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed and thinking about her former team who were all gone. She started to get a tear in her eye.

Just then Gibbs said, "Hey! We got a job to do! Enough of this sappy stuff. We aren't Army CID! McGee, whatdya got!"

McGee with slice of pizza in hand spun and faced Gibbs. I went to Waverly University and moved every 10 minutes so that I never used the same wi-fi node for more than what they could trace. I was able to get a general profile on the SecNav, and hacked into a few databases. Jarvis was appointed SecNav after Phillip Davenport resigned. The Secretary of the Navy is appointed by The President and is approved by The Senate. It seems that Jarvis was approved as part of a list of presidential nominees, so there was no unusual scrutiny of him as part of the approval process."

"Not unusual McGee. Anything not part of the public record?" Gibbs asked as he remained leaning against his workbench.

"Yeah, boss. When I was able to access some restricted databases, it appears that Jarvis was responsible for creating and managing the Watcher Fleet and was responsible for the formation of the Phantom 8 team. He was the liaison between Sean Latham and the US Navy prior to his retirement from the Navy. He then became a lobbyist for a group of companies that relied on contracts with the military."

The astonishment of the latest information could be seen on the faces of most of the team, except Gibbs. Gibbs had a gut feeling there was some sort of connection, Jarvis and Latham seemed too buddy-buddy. McGee's discovery just confirmed it.

A thought suddenly came to Gibbs, "McGee, the DHS guy, Pearce, last year. The one who attempted to release the biological agent to kill top brass at that football game, he was part of an unknown group that may have had ties to military contractors, any chance Jarvis or Latham may have been involved in that?"

The weight of what Gibbs just said settled on the team as the basement remained silent for a few seconds before McGee finally spoke. "I hadn't searched for a link to that case, Boss, but I could do more digging."

"Abby, do you still have access to the computer that we confiscated from Pearce's home?"

Abby was taken by surprise at Gibbs asking her a question, "Uh, I should Gibbs, but I'll have to check."

"I don't want your name added to the chain of evidence. The case should be closed, and you should be able to access it without causing any suspicion. If you have to leave a trail, find another way to access it." Gibbs said with concern in his voice.

"I'll be careful, Gibbs." Abby said resolutely.

Gibbs nodded in acknowledgment, convinced that Abby would take all precautions necessary. "Ziva, find anything?"

"I have made some inquiries on the down short to some very discrete sources."

"Down low" Tony Corrected.

"Down low" Ziva glared at Tony as she corrected herself. "I may get some responses in the next several days. I have asked that they not e-mail anything, but communicate directly with me through secure phone lines."

"Tony"

"I checked with my source in The Pentagon…" DiNozzo was interrupted.

"Jerry the barber?" McGee asked.

DiNozzo glared at McGee. "Just one of many, McInterruptus!" He turned back to Gibbs and continued his report. "Director Vance visited SecNav this afternoon." Tony revealed. Everyone's eyes went wide in surprise, except Gibbs.

"Yeah, he was summoned for an appointment." Gibbs shared.

"Other than that, SecNav was at The Pentagon all day, and then went home. Nice home. Nice neighborhood. Landscaping could have been better thought out. Must of cost him a fortune." DiNozzo stopped his commentary when he saw Gibbs glaring at him.

"We are to focus full time on our regular cases. Only do this in our spare time. EJ, that's where we can use your help. For some of the surveillance on SecNav outside of The Pentagon, we'll need someone who can move on a moment's notice. You coordinate with DiNozzo and tag team the surveillance. For the most part, the SecNav's movements are planned and we can get a copy a day ahead of time, it is the unplanned time periods we want to track him, at places he could meet someone." Gibbs took a sip of his bourbon as he let the assignments sink in with the team.

"We may need to get someone inside at his Country Club, Gibbs. Jarvis really liked meeting there when I was on that assignment for him last year." Tony added.

"Which country club was that, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asks.

"Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase. Very exclusive. Costs $100,000 for the initiation fee and something like $15,000 for the annual dues."

"That leaves any of us out." Gibbs said, smirking.  
>"Not me." EJ said. "Uncle Philip has a membership; I am on the family membership and have access to the club."<p>

Gibbs scrutinized her, "you sure you could go there without anyone being suspicious that you might have other reasons for being there than playing tennis or getting a massage?"

"I've been going there to play tennis and use the pool for the past couple months. I am pretty well known there." EJ offered.

"OK. You're our eyes & ears at Columbia Country Club, EJ. Don't get yourself into any dangerous situations! Call for backup immediately if the situation changes." Gibbs commanded her, knowing she liked to go 'lone wolf' at times.

"What about me, Jethro?" Ducky asked.

"Ah Duck, if you could manage to get SecNav's medical records without rousing any suspicion, that might help us."

"I might be able to get them Jethro. He is a political appointee, so his medical records may be part of the public record. But we will leave a trail if we request them through normal channels." Ducky explained. "It might be possible to obtain them through unofficial means, if one has the ability to access records without official authorization." Ducky looked at McGee.

McGee picked up on the implication, "I'll see what I can do, Ducky."

"Do it, McGee." Gibbs commanded. "Everyone good with their assignment?"

A couple nods, "Got it, Boss", "Yes, Gibbs.", "Of course, My Silver Haired…..Gibbs", and "yes." answered his question.

"Good." Gibbs downed the rest of his bourbon. He reached under his workbench and pulled out a bag. "I have burn phones for everyone. There are 500 minutes charged up on each. If you need anymore, don't buy them yourselves. Bring it to me. I'll probably ditch the phone and give you a new one. Turn them on only when you are going to use them. Any suspicion that you might be compromised, ditch the phone. We aren't playing with amateurs, we are dealing with the US Navy, and we're dealing with us. If we can track us, Jarvis' guys can track us. Remember that! See most of you tomorrow."

He then went to the middle of the basement and continued to sand. The rest of the team moved to the side of the basement after they each grabbed a phone. They had all grabbed another beverage and discussed some of the finer details they might encounter.

Once they decided that everything was good to go for the next couple of days they headed up the stairs and out the door. As Abby left the basement, she was in the back of the pack, she grabbed DiNozzo, who was just in front of her. The rest of the team kept going and didn't realize the two were left behind in Gibbs living room.

"Tony, I'm worried about Gibbs! If SecNav is really out to get him, he really doesn't have much of a chance, does he?" Her big green eyes were filled with tears, looking to Tony for answers.  
>Tony enveloped her in a reassuring hug. "We won't let anything happen to Gibbs, Abby. But I am pretty sure he can take care of himself. Gibbs vs. SecNav? Gibbs is gonna win every time. No need to worry Abs."<p>

"I hope you're right Tony." She said as her head lay against Tony's shoulder.

Tony thought, 'I hope I am, too.'


	12. Chapter 12

Life has been busy and writers block has set in. Thanks for all that are following the story

Disclaimer: As much as I click my heels and say "I wish it were mine", still not happening.

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><p>Gibbs was alone in his basement after the team left, he resumed sanding the vanity. It took the team a while to completely leave. He heard them hang around for a bit in the living room after they left the basement, but after a while he was finally by himself with his thoughts. He continued sanding. It gave him a peace that nothing else could. After a bit, he stopped and refilled his mug with bourbon. Leaning against the workbench, he took a sip. "Come on down" he said to an empty basement.<p>

Trent Kort descended the stairs. "Hello, Gibbs."

"Kort" Gibbs acknowledged.

"You know why I'm here?" Kort offered.

"You must be my contact." Gibbs said with a certain resignation in his voice.

"Don't sound so excited, Gibbs. Not like I asked for the assignment. Apparently, our previous cooperation was noticed by someone up above, and I was assigned to take care of this little glitch."

Gibbs glared at the CIA agent after he stepped into the basement and walked toward him. "I'm here to get you through this breach, Gibbs."

Gibbs finished the bourbon that was in his mug, "Yeah, OK." Gibbs acknowledged. "So tell me something I don't know."

"SecNav wants you to be part of a black ops team that will prevent the assassination of the president."

Gibbs nearly choked on the sip of bourbon. "He what?!"

"It was something that was fed to him. Apparently he believed the fake intelligence that was conveniently dropped in his lap."

"So why the urgent requests for polygraphs for myself and my team? He thinks we're the assassin team?" Gibbs thought for a bit, "You feed him the bit of mis-information?"

"Not me, Gibbs" Kort responded. "Another three-letter agency that works closely with the DOD. Starts with N, ends with A. I'm sure even you're smart enough to figure out the missing middle letter is an S."

Gibbs smiled, poured a little more bourbon into his mug. He looked over at Kort. "You want some?" He gestured with the bottle in his hand.

"No thanks, Gibbs. I prefer something a little more refined, like Macallan 25." Kort said, snubbing Gibbs' offer.

"More expensive isn't better, Kort." Gibbs said as he took another swig.

"You get what you pay for." Kort retorted back,

"Keep on thinking that." Gibbs smiled. "So, why're ya here? Pretty sure it wasn't to insult my bourbon."

"Gibbs, I've been read in. I know your past." Kort responded, changing the subject.

Gibbs left his mug on the workbench and walked toward the middle of the basement and started to sand the vanity.

"Nothing to say?"Kort asked.

"Nothing asked." Gibbs retorted, continuing his rhythmic sanding.

"Gibbs, you were in the original group of soldiers that the Frankenstein operation was based on, the one established in the cold war era." Kort just stood there, waiting for Gibbs to respond.

Gibbs kept on sanding. He had heard Kort. But wasn't sure how he wanted to respond. He hadn't been part of the operation for years. He stopped sanding as he remembered watching Lt. Jonas Cobb in the video, training for Frankenstein. He remembered saying 'Thing like that changes a man.' While watching it.

Gibbs flashbacked to his own training in the early '80's. He had been an MP, then was selected for a special program. He was trained to be a special ops assassin, then taught Russian. He remembered all the training he had to go through, much of which he re-lived while watching the 'Frankenstein' footage.

He had been sent on twelve assignments before he was sent to sniper school. He remembered them all, the first was a target in Buenos Aires, very easy, gunshot to the back of the head. An easy op. The last was the most difficult, a target in Germany. It was a face to face kill. He cut the throat of a female Russian spy who had been sleeping with high ranking US Military officers to get troop information. He had posed as a General and had slept with her so that he could kill her.

The training he received in the special ops class shaped him more than anyone realized. That is where his 'gut' came from. Before the training, he was aware of everything going on around him, after the training, he was hyper—aware. This is where he learned to 'anticipate' and he now taught his team to do the same.

"Hey, Gibbs? You with us?"Kort asked, bring Gibbs back to the present reality.

"Yeah" Gibbs responded as he walked over to the workbench and took another swig of bourbon. Once he had a little more bourbon in him, he became a little more talkative. "Tell me what I need to know, Kort." Gibbs glared at the CIA agent.

"More than five words in a sentence, I should be honored, Gibbs. What you need to know is that Jarvis was part of 'Watcher Fleet'. He has been part of many covert operations in the past. Despite his ability to use the covert Seal teams, his preference is to use non-military covert operatives. In the past he has gone rogue a couple times, but since the outcome was positive, he was never written up.

Gibbs took another sip of bourbon, "You're just full of good news, Trent" Gibbs smirked.

"I have never been one to sugar coat anything, Gibbs, but I think you'd appreciate that more than most." Kort interjected.

Gibbs nodded in acknowledgment.

Gibbs went back to his project in the middle of the basement, and started sanding where he left off. Kort remained in his position against the workbench.

Finally Gibbs turned back to Kort, and said: "Let's get this right. Anything you need from my team, we'll make it right."

Kort nodded, "Thanks Gibbs. This might not be easy. You may have to go'undercover'- basically be a double agent, to do this op right."

Gibbs stopped sanding. "Just so I know who is on which side, put the players in a nutshell for me."

Kort smiled. "Jarvis wants glory for himself, the agency wants to keep the U.S. safe."

Gibbs lopsided smile flashed across his face. "OK, got it. Do what you need to do, just tell me what I need to do."

"That is one of the reasons I like dealing with you Gibbs, you were well trained by The Marines to be obedient. Something we should have more of in the rest of the government agencies."

Gibbs looked up at Kort, "You still here?"

Kort smiled "I've never been here, Gibbs." He walked up the stairs, out the door, and Gibbs was more than relieved when he heard Kort leave his house.


End file.
